Michigan's Second Bridge - Boyne's SkyBridge

In 1953, at the beginning of Boyne Mountain, a hotel owner in Gatlinburg, TN called Everett about installing a chairlift. When Everett went to investigate the location, he immediately saw a potential jackpot in the making. By 1957 he had leased land, purchased a lift from Snowbowl in California and installed it with his father on the Tennessee mountain they named Crockett Mountain. From the third year of operation, the Gatlinburg Sky Lift was transporting over 100,000 people yearly to the top of the mountain. The success of the SkyLift helped Boyne USA grow and expand the Mountain, The Highlands and across the United States.

This new SkyBridge will be known as Michigan’s second bridge and was inspired by Everett’s 1957 SkyLift in the Smokies, followed by the Gatlinburg SkyBridge in 2019.

💡 Click Play Video to see a 2001 Michigan Skier TV Interview with Everett Kircher about the Gatlinburg SkyLift and his endeavors in the early years. (12 minutes long)

💡 Want to see an old photo from the original SkyLift in the Smokies? Gatlinburg SkyLift Park

📸 Attached Media:

-Photo of the SkyBridge once the flooring was finished on September 2, 2022 from Boyne Mountain Archives

-Proposed Michigan SkyBridge from Boyne Mountain Resort Archives

-"Vacationers have been enjoying the views in Gatlinburg for decades!" SkyLift photo from Gatlinburg article on Style Blueprint https://styleblueprint.com/everyday/gatlinburg-history/

-Gatlinburg SkyLift Photo from https://www.gatlinburgskylift.com/skylift

-Gatlinburg SkyBridge Photo & Details from https://www.gatlinburgskylift.com/skybridge

🔗Links in Text:

-"Everett Kircher, The 1950's, glsp" YouTube by Jennie McCafferty, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x44mG2Z-pAE

-"Smoky Sky Lift" photo from May 12, 1958- Gatlinburg SkyLift Park's facebook page https://m.facebook.com/GatlinburgSkyLift1/photos/turnbacktuesday-to-1958-at-the-gatlinburg-skylift-better-known-in-that-time-as-t/1034222463640955/

🏃 Walk back toward the Eagle’s Nest. The run to the right (south) of the Eagle’s Nest is the Victor Run.

📚Bibliography: β Δ